[Slokais]

Ousmane had been in secondary school when the coup happened. His family had long been connected with the KLF-U, party and as such could afford to send Ousmane to the best prep school. Lennesway Day School was located above much of Guediwaye, with some classrooms having views that stretched out into the Olympic Ocean. At Lennesway Day, being well-read in culture and classical education was important and thus each student was required to attend a 45-minute Classics Disscusion class in the middle of the day. This kind of education had largely died out within public education, as Seynabou Gano viewed studying foreign ancient texts as “backward-minded and oppressive”. Ironically, Gano’s son was in the same Classics class with Ousmane, although they were far from friends.

“Today, we will be discussing the works of Élisabeth le Bonnaire, that are in your textbook,” the teacher, Madame Bourne said.

Madame Bourne was an older Arrivee woman with blond hair which was slowly turning grey, she was often jokingly referred to as Madame Bourne Long Ago. Élisabeth Bonnaire was a Laerlian painter who was well-known for her portraits of Fellsian elites. They would eventually have to write a paper about one of her paintings using command terms to describe the meaning of her artistic choices. At the time, Ousmane could have carried less, most people cheated on the tests anyway. Madame Bourne still didn’t understand mobile cell phones, so students would just hide them and use them to access documents with all the answers. It was one of these mobile phones that went off a few minutes into class.

Claire, the offending student pulled out her mobile phone. Ousmane thought this was odd, Claire was one of the few students who truly may have carried about her schoolwork.
“I am so sorry, Madame,” Claire said before stepping out.
“Must be serious” one of her friends said

At that moment the phones of every student began to go off like crazy, including Ousmane’s phone.
Madame Bourne had completely lost the class, even as she tried to keep teaching about Bonnaire. Yet her students were already abuzz in many conversations.
“They took the Capitol”
“Screw, this I’m going home”
Eventually, the public alert sirens began to go off, and the students were ushered towards Lennesway’s large colonial area basement. For several hours, the students sat on the cold stone floors, their silence occasionally broken up by another phone call from concerned parents to students. Gano has been cooped, that much was clear from the rumors quickly spreading, but from who?
“It was those Brissican” one boy said
“Hey, I got family in Brissiac why would try and take over Kolda” Claire said, she had been the first called because her mother worked at an office building across from the Presidential Palace that was currently surrounded. She had calmed down several hours ago, but her eyes were still red.
“As revenge, you people want to re-colonize our country,” the boy said.
“There has been peace for years, why attack,” Ousmane said.

Several hours later, the doors of the basement burst open. Soldiers with light green armbands their weapons drawn.
“Excuse, me,” the school security guard said, standing up.
One of the soldiers pointed his assault weapon at the guard.
“You are not paid well enough, to deal with us. We will be gone soon” a man said from behind the soldiers. It was obvious he was their commander.
“What do you want” Madame Bourne asked
“If you are ever asked, we are with the General,” one of the soldiers said as he grabbed one of the students.

The soldiers fanned out across the room, and one of them approached Ousmane.
“ID, now,” he said
Ousmane quickly produced his KLF party membership card, one of the only pieces of ID he had. His father had once told him that a KLF membership card could get you out of any situation, and as such Ousmane kept it close. So was the power of the KLF over society.
The soldier, who only looked a few years older than Ousmane himself, scanned the ID intently.
“This one’s one of ours,” he said to his commander.
Ousmane however was shocked when several other students were taken.
“They have KLF ID cards, there with us” Ousmane pleaded.
“We don’t need you,” the soldier said.

In the end, two dozen students were taken from Lennesway Day, on the day of the coup. Included were Claire and a few of Ousmane’s friends. He or anyone else at that school, never heard from them again. At the same time, the students were never declared dead. In the aftermath, after the counter-coup led by Edouard Senghor the events that day became a closely guarded secret. Madame Bourne soon disappeared as well, some said from old age, and some said she left from the stress of it all. Ousmane didn’t blame her, the coup changed Kolda. Before, Kolda had not been a democracy or really that democratic by any international standards, yet at least he knew what to expect. Senghor however took the KLF in a new direction, no longer was it a party of ideals, but rather a party of status and wealth. Rather what held the KLF and by effect, Kolda together was simply personal greed.


Ousmane had fully been regulated by his campaign schedule. Day after day, town after town. Every time there would be business first, meeting the local party chair and such. Such conversations were very stuffy and proformative. Lots of “for the workers' and “for the Koldan people' were thrown into policy. One of the nicer stops was the town of Faildouth located along Banguala Bay. Much of the traditional architecture in small towns had been destroyed or made a KLF-U-related office. Ironic, that the same buildings that had once held KLF fighters were now used by the victors.

Still, Faildouth held a nice charm, fishermen docking on the beach, local kids jumping off the piers in the blue water. After a rally in an old town, Ousmane left his campaign staff behind and wandered to a nearby internet cafe. Ousmane liked to stay informed on international affairs and wished to travel the world someday. The cafe turned out to have an excellent iced coffee and sweet Fatyare pastry. However, soon his father came into the cafe, and he placed his order before sitting next to Ousmane. The two didn't look at each other, there still obviously tension between them.
“We can’t have you wander away like that,” he said
“I’m not a child, I have a college degree,” Ousmane said, handing his empty glass to a waiter
“In something worthless never the less”
“Wanting to know our History, is important to me and should be to you”
“Don’t tell me what to think Ousmane, I’m here to give you an opportunity”
“Okay..”
“It’s in Brissiac…I didn’t suggest it, but party superiors said otherwise”
“Call me interested, what’s the business in Brissiac? Doesn’t Le Gens Separation apply?”
“They need support, radical elements are trying to disrupt their government”
“That’s their problem, let those Baliah sort out their issue”
“So you are saying no?”
“...No, not exactly”
At that moment, his father’s order appeared at the counter. As his father went up to grab his sandwich, Ousmane realized something. Being away on party business would give him an excuse to leave his campaign and his rigorous campaigning behind. Ousmane had been feeling sick at the thought of repeating the lies he had been fed, this trip would be an antidote to his sickness. When his father returned, he spoke.
“I’m perfectly fine with it, what’s my role”
His father paused for a second, taking a bite of his sandwich.
“You are knowledgeable in French, and it gives you a chance to use those history skills of your”

Brissiac despite being across the water, was a world away to many. Despite being in the same country, Brissiac enforced security at their border. With a lack of jobs in the rest of Kolda, economic migrants flocked to work low-wage jobs in the cities of Brissiac. Neither state would survive without the other, Kolda benefited from money being sent back and its youth being employed, while Brissiac was able to continue to export technology and keep the Arivee minority rich. The KLF-U had largely ignored Brissiac since the 90s, and the passage of the Le Gens Separation or “People’s Separation” confirmed that. Despite, human rights issues being raised in Brissiac and the continued imagery of colonialism, the KLF-U didn’t contest the dominant Brissiac Union Party within their region. Meanwhile, the Brissiac Union didn’t contest the KLF-U by paying for Arivee citizens to migrate south of the border. It was a kind of deal, that made you forget that Brissiac was even part of Kolda, like decades of oppression at the hands of the Brissiacan minority didn't happen at all. Ousmane was still excited, he had only been to Brissiac once, a childhood vacation at a Brissican vineyard, that he barely remembered. He knew it would be a work trip this time, although his excitement still stayed with him as he boarded the short flight south to Saint-Paul.